Piano.



E: R. AYRES.

PIANO.

8' Im- Patented May 2, 1916.

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E. R. AYRES.

PIANO.

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Patented May 2, 1916.

2 SHEETS SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE.

ERNEST B. AYBES, OF HUTCHINSON, KANSAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO MARTINIR.

BENSON, OF HARPER, KANSAS.

PIANO.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2, 1916.

Application filed December 18, 1913. Serial No. 807,532.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST R. AYnEs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Hutchinson, in the county of Reno and State of Kansas, haveinvented a new and useful Piano, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to upright pianos, one of its objects being toprovide a sounding board which is detachably mounted, the same beingheld fixedly in position in a novel manner but it being possible readilyto remove the sounding board from the structure in which it is seated.

A further object is to provide a sounding board on which is arranged acentrally disposed bridge.

lVith the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within thescope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

In the accompanying drawings the pre-- ferred form of the invention hasbeen shown.

In said drawings :Figure 1 is an elevation of the sounding board and thestructure in which it is mounted. Fig. 2 is a similar view of theopposite side of the structure. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 butwith the retaining plate removed. Fig. 4 is a detail view of thesounding board removed from its supporting structure. Fig. 5 is asection on line AB Fig. 1. (3 is a section on line CD Fig. 2. Fig. 7 isa section on line EF Fig. 41. Fig. 8 is an enlarged plan view of aportion of the bridge. Fig. 9 is a section on line GH Fig. 8.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates astring plate having the usual large opening 2 through which the soundingboard is exposed and through which extends the bridge 3, there being aslot 4 in the string plate to receive the bridge 5. The bridge 3 isextended centrally upon the front side of the sounding board 6 and, asshown particularly in Fig. 5, the sounding board is provided, along itsedges, with continuous oppositely extending flanges 7 forming a rim.Ribs 8 can be extended across the back of the sounding board as shown inFigs. 2, 3 and 5.

The string plate 1 has one end X and one side Y shaped to conform withthe contour of one end and one side of the sounding board. Extendingalong said side Y and end X of the string plate is a rearwardlyextending flange 9 which merges into a straight side flange 10 extendingfrom the end X of the string plate to the other end Z of the stringplate. The curved flange 9 preferably terminates short of the end Z ofthe string plate as shown in Fig. 8. A straight cross flange 11 connectsthe flanges 9 and 10 so that a recess 12 is thus produced between theflanges 9, 10 and 11 for the re ception of the wrest plank 13. Theflanges 10 and 11 are connected by a curved flange 14 which is integralwith the string plate and conforms with the contour of one side of thesounding board. The flanges 9 and 12 cooperate to form a recess withinwhich the sounding board will fit snugly, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.The flanges 9, 10, 11 and 12 are all of the same width and when thesounding board is seated within the recess provided therefor in thestring plate the back edge of the rim 7 will lie flush with thecorresponding edges of the flanges 9 and 12. A brace 14 is formed withplate 1 and lies parallel with the treble strings, the bass stringspassing over it.

The sounding board is held in place by a skeleton cover plate 15 of thesame outline as the string plate 1 so that, when the cover plate isresting on the flanges 9, l0 and 11,

its edges will lie flush with the outer faces of the flanges.Furthermore the said cover plate has integral portions extending acrossand contacting with the rim 7 of the sounding board. Consequently whenthe cover plate is secured to the string plate, the sounding board willbe retained securely within the recess provided therefor. Any desiredmeans may be employed for fastening the cover plate to the string plateand in the drawings bolts 16 have been shown arranged at any desiredpoints.

As shown in the drawings, the string ongaging means to be used inconnection with the sounding board is of a special construction. It willbe seen that said meansincludes a head 17 which engages the one surfaceof the sounding board 6, the stem 18 of the device extending through thesounding board and also through the bridge. These 3 and 5 at oppositesides of and parallel with the grooves 19 and the strings of the pianorest on these wires. The said strings, which have been indicated at 21,are held upon the wires 20 by retaining pins 22 which extend throughopenings in the stems 18 and which are above the grooves 19.Consequently pin 22 is held by friction against accidental displacement.

It is to be understood that all of the bind ing means are not providedWith heads which extend under the sounding board as these special formsare only arranged at suitable intervals for the purpose-of attaching thebridge 3 to the sounding board.

WVhat is claimed is The combination with a piano sounding board havingcontinuous oppositely extending flanges at its periphery forming a rim,

of a string plate having one end and one to' the flanges on the stringplate and lapping the flnnges on the sounding board and the wrest plank,thereby to hold the sounding board and wrest plank against displacementrelative to the string plate.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixedmy signature in the "presence of two witnesses.

ERNEST R. AYRES.

W'itnesses:

MARTIN R. BENSON, GEORGE S. TIFFANY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner of 2a., Washington, D. C.

